


An Abrupt End

by Meraad



Series: Sorrows and Delights - Blackwall/Cadash [5]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst, Blood and Injury, Drama, F/M, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-10
Updated: 2018-05-10
Packaged: 2019-05-04 17:21:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14597931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meraad/pseuds/Meraad
Summary: The battle is over, Corypheus vanquished. It should be a time for celebration.





	1. Chapter 1

A lone tear rolled down Rija’s cheek as she stared up at the green slash across the sky. She had done it. Somehow, she’d managed to defeat Corypheus. A pain in her hand had her clenching her fingers into a fist, trying to distract herself from the rest of the aches throughout her body.

There were voices, shouts, and cries. Rija made her way toward them and saw the crowd of people. Her companions, her friends, and allies. She saw Thom, her lover, and the relief in his eyes when they fixed on her. She gave him a half smile. They rushed to her, cheered for her. They celebrated the victory.

But a hollow ache built in her chest. “Let’s get back to Skyhold,” someone suggested and Thom crossed to her.

“You did it, love.” He touched her face, a gentle caress with calloused fingers that she leaned into.

“I had help,” she said.

“Come on, let’s go, you look like you’re about to keel over.”

“You go ahead,” Rija told him, catching his hand she pressed a kiss to it. “I’ll catch up.”

Thom’s brow furrowed. “Are you sure?”

“I just need a minute alone. I’ll be right there,” she reassured him.

Thom ducked his head down and brushed a kiss over her mouth. “Alright, love. Don’t stay too long.”

“I won’t,” she said. He stepped back, turned and began walking away. “Thom,” she called, he turned back, raised his brows and waited. “I love you,” she said.

He gave her a soft smile, his eyes crinkled and she felt a lump building up in her throat. “I love you too,” he told her, then turned and left her alone.

Tears that she’d been fighting began to roll down her cheeks as she sunk down heavily on a large rock. She pressed her hand to her stomach, fingers slipping in the blood that oozed through the gash in her leather armor. The healing tonic had helped while in the heat of battle, but she knew, no magic, no healer, no potion, would save her.

It was over. She did her best. She did everything she could and they had won.

Her only regret was Thom. She never imagined falling in love. Never believed she was worthy of love. But Thom had worshiped her. Loved her so much she thought her heart might explode.

A future would have been nice. Maybe even a family. A house and a pack of mabari pups.

Shifting her weight she slid down the rock to sit on the ground. How long until Thom came back to find her? Not long, she imagined. Rija wished that she could make it better for him somehow. Wanted to be certain that he’d be alright in the coming months and years. A pale figure appeared at her side and she turned her head to look at Cole.

“He’s going to hurt,” she told him. “Take care of him for me.” Cole nodded solemnly. “Help me,” she said, then whimpered when she twisted, lifting her arm to allow Cole access to the buckles up the side of her armor. “Undo them.”

Deft fingers quickly unfastened them and the pressure around her torso was gone. She felt the rush of blood from her injury and sagged, light-headed. “I want Josie to throw that party she was talking about. They need- they need to celebrate the victory.” Rija’s breathing slowed and she let her eyes slip shut. “Tell him that I’m sorry,” she murmured. “Be happy and-” her voice cracked. “Don’t mourn me forever.”

 

 

_What was taking her so long?_ Thom couldn’t help but wonder. He turned around and headed back to look for the fool-headed woman. His back ached and he wanted nothing more than to sink into a hot bath with her and then climb into bed and sleep for a week.

He spotted her sitting on the ground, leaning against a rock, head tilted back with her eyes closed and he chuckled quietly. “Love,” he called as he got closer. She didn’t respond and he resigned himself to carry her back to Skyhold. Not that he minded, he liked holding her in his arms.

The woman was a wonder to him. A miracle of his very own.

As he drew closer he began to frown, brow pinching together in concern. She was pale. “Rija,” he said, heard the harsh tone in his voice and she didn’t react. “No,” it was a rough rasp as he sprinted the remaining distance and fell to his knees beside her. “No, Ri,” he touched her face and felt how cold her skin was beneath his fingers.

“Rija,” he shouted, hands going to her shoulders he gave her a rough shake, her head lolled to the side and the hand that was resting against her stomach fell away.

His vision blurred and he blinked quickly. She was soaked with dark blood. Her armor was pulled away from the wound and, _Maker’s breath_ , the gash was as long as his hand. “You stupid woman,” he barked at her, though he knew she couldn’t hear him. “Why? You knew you were hurt! Why didn’t you-” his voice broke and he dragged her into his arms.

Thom didn’t know how much time passed as he sat there, clinging to her body, sobbing into her hair, before he heard voices. Recognized them.

“Ah, shit.”

“Maker’s breath.”

“Dorian, is there anything-”

“She’s gone.”

A hand rested on his shoulder and he finally lifted his head. Cassandra stood beside him, squeezing his shoulder. “We need to get her back to Skyhold,” she said, voice filled with an aching sadness.

Thom didn’t think he could stand up, but he couldn’t bring himself to let her go. Cassandra reached down and held his elbow, then The Iron Bull appeared at his other side and they got him to his feet without him ever releasing Rija’s body.

 

Days and nights blurred together for Thom. He sat in the hard wooden chair in the barn and stared into the fire, getting up only to toss another log onto it. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do now.

“You hurt,” Cole’s voice came from the other side of the fire and Thom’s eyes flicked up, saw the boy sitting in the shadows.

“Go away,” he grumbled quietly.

“She didn’t want you to hurt. _Tell him I’m sorry, be happy and don’t mourn me forever_.”

Pain sliced through his heart. “She spoke to you,” he whispered, brow knitting together. Before she died, she’d spoken to Cole. “You were there.” The realization had the blood roaring in his ears. Thom shoved up to his feet and took a step forward, saw the boy shift backward quickly, but it only enraged him more. “You were there! You did nothing to help her! You could have saved her!”

“I did help,” Cole told him and in a blink he was crouching on the steps to the upper level of the barn, putting more distance between them. “ _Unfasten the straps. I’m going to die. I don’t want him to watch_.”

“You killed her!” he roared, wrapped his hands around the chair he’d been sitting in and hurled it across the barn. It smashed against his work table, in an explosion of splinters. His outburst had several people running toward the barn, demanding to know what was going on. Without a word, Thom walked away.

He made his way into the catacombs below Skyhold to the cold, dark room where Rija’s body lay on a stone slab. Some elaborate tomb was being crafted for her, to honor her and allow her to return to the Stone. Thom thought that they must have used some sort of magic to preserve her body, because, at the moment, she appeared to just be sleeping, save for the wan look of her skin.

Rija had been washed of the blood and dirt from battle, her hair done in intricate braids and she was dressed in one of the elaborate gowns she liked.

He had spent such a long time running from who he was, and when he’d finally owned up to his sins, she’d accepted him still, with open arms, and soft kisses. She had made life worth living, but now he was alone again. “I’ll apologize to the boy before I leave,” he said voice gruff from unshed tears. “I know you cared for him.”

Reaching into his pocket he found the wooden ring he’d spent months carving with painstaking care. “I’m sorry, love,” he sighed. He slipped the band onto her left ring finger and ducked his head down to press a kiss to her cold knuckles.

With Corypheus gone, with Rija gone, he had no place at Skyhold any longer. She’d be angry with his decision, but what else could he do? He only hoped that the Grey Wardens would accept him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here, have a little more sadness.

Thom stared up at the sky, the stars were dimming and the sun was just beginning to creep over the horizon. The deep blue fading to purple. He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, along with all the anger at the world, _at her_ , that he’d held onto for all these years. He understood now. “I’m sorry, Rija,” he rasped out.

He believed in the Maker, that when good people died they spent eternity at His side. Rija had honored the Stone, hadn’t believed in some glorious afterlife. Thom hadn’t been good, he knew, he wouldn’t be rewarded with any happiness in the hereafter. But he wished he could see Rija just one last time.

Even if it were just to hear her yell at him for his choices. A faint smile twisted the corner of his mouth. He coughed, then groaned at the pain that lanced his chest. She would have been so disappointed in him. While she had admired the Wardens, he remembered finding her weeping in relief after the truth had come out about him.

“ _I’ve tried so hard to keep my distance emotionally, knowing that one way or another I’d lose you to your duty as a Warden, or to the Calling-” Rija threw her arms around him, clung to him, her face buried in the crook of his neck. “I can’t stand the thought of losing you.”_

_Thom wrapped his arms around her, pressed his face against her hair and closed his eyes. He’d been so worried she would regret her choice to be with him. She was everything that he had never even dreamed of having. “I love you, Rija,” he said, squeezing her tighter. The words weren’t enough, would never be enough to convey how his heart felt when he thought of her._

_She lifted her head, smiled at him, gray eyes wet with unshed tears. “I love you too, Rainwall, I mean, Blackrain?”_

“ _Cruel,” he said not meaning it and she laughed._

“ _Thom, it doesn’t matter what your name is, I love you.”_

Thom had never imagined he’d lose her, not to death at least. She was unstoppable. Indestructible. A force of nature. His anger with her for giving up had festered in the years since she defeated Corypheus. He loved her, undoubtedly, but the bitterness had remained.

It had been selfish, he knew now. Not her actions, but his own. Rija had known she was going to die, she had accepted it and she had spared the both of them the misery of her suffering.

Thom blinked up at the sky, the purple was now pink, with hints of orange and yellow. His mind drifted to Cole and he was grateful that he’d been there for Rija in her last moments because Thom wouldn’t have had the strength to unfasten the straps on her armor to allow death to come quicker for her. Fitting, he thought, that he’d be lying alone in a field, waiting for his own death. What he wouldn’t give to have the boy there to help him as he’d helped Rija.

He’d done what he could to make up for his past sins, helping everyone he could. He wished that he could have made her proud.

“ _You foolish man.”_

Thom blinked rapidly, felt the tears leak from the corners of his eyes. Not much longer then, he thought. The imagined sound of her voice was like finding a stream of icy mountain run off on a scorching day. “I’m so sorry, love,” he choked out.

“ _You’ve nothing to apologize for, my love.”_

A painful hallucination. A soft hand cupped his cheek and he opened his eyes, desperate for one last glimpse of her. He saw only sky. Thom closed his eyes again, squeezed them shut. “I love you, Rija.”

“ _And I love you.”_ A brush of lips against his cheek. The scent of honey and tobacco filled his lungs. _“_ _It’s time to come home, Thom.”_

 

Leliana looked up at the sound of familiar footsteps on the stone floor. “Thom Rainier is dead.”

Cassandra’s steps faltered. She stood frozen for a moment, the surprise of the name and the news catching her off guard. “How-?” Of course, Leliana would know, she had kept tabs on the man when he had left the Inquisition after Rija Cadash’s death.

The other woman lifted the Warden Constable badge. Cassandra breathed out a soft sigh. “I hope he found peace,” she said, crossing the room to look at the small leather package. A single white feather still lay across the worn leather. “It should go to Rija,” she murmured.

“I agree.”

It was a short while later that Cassandra made her way down into the catacombs below Skyhold, holding the leather bundle and small bouquet of honeysuckle. Stepping up to the tomb she spread out the leather and carefully arranged the badge, feather, and flowers. A soft breeze flitted through the room and Cassandra felt a peace in the dark room that she’d never felt before.

“I hope that you have found each other again,” she said softly and for just a moment she swore she could smell tobacco and wood shavings. “Be at peace, my friend.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have some fluff in the works to make up for all the angst, I promise.


End file.
